BRICS nations vow to fight protectionism

Beijing, Aug 2 (IANS) Trade ministers from India and other BRICS countries pledged to rise against protectionism and safeguard the multilateral trade system after concluding their annual meeting in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The member countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are also members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), playing a major part in global economic governance, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ministers agreed to firmly oppose protectionism and pledged to annul any protective measures, calling on other countries to follow suit.

They also encouraged more countries to participate in the WTO, urging the institution to show more commitment to receiving the least developed countries.

“Safeguarding the multilateral trade system and the rise against protectionism serves the common interests of emerging and developing economies,” China’s Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan said.

“As the host nation of this year’s meeting, China has confidence in implementing the consensus reached by leaders of BRICS nations. The Shanghai meeting will pave way for the leaders summit later this year,” he said.

China, which took over the BRICS presidency this year, will host the Ninth BRICS Summit in September in Xiamen in southeast China’s Fujian province.